Succession planning
In Organizational development (OD), a critical task facing every organization is planning for succession in key roles, e.g. the CEO.
The example of General Electric is a good recent one where CEO Jack Welch and the GE Board of Directors engaged in a lengthy and systematic review of the potential successors prior to his retirement.
With the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2003, succession planning has risen in importance as a corporate governance issue.
Other interesting slants on succession
